It's Just a Little too Late
by Bobbie Anne18
Summary: XX This is not a SONGFIC. XX Summary: After Ned Bigby stomped out of their lives almost ten years ago, he’s now back, and everything he left behind is now living without him, and maybe dying. Rated T for some language.
1. The Lit Science Room

**IT'S JUST A LITTLE TOO LATE**

**~~ Some notes: this is not based on Jojo's song "too little too late", but i guess it can be ~~**

**~~ Disclaimer: **Not Mine. Belongs to Nick. 

-- After Ned Bigby stomped out of their lives almost ten years ago, he's now back, and everything he left behind is now living without him, and maybe dying.--

* * *

"_Ned, meet me later?" Jennifer Mosley told him that faithful morning, while they got their togas on for graduation. Yep, he, Ned Bigby, was graduating middle school! He turned to his bestfriend—and now girlfriend—and smiled._

"_Yep, where do you want to meet?" he beamed, openly gaping at her while she shook her head. Well, he couldn't help it! After all those years, she _still_ shone—and nope, it wasn't Gordy's light problem making her glow like that._

"_Ned Bigby, stop staring at me like _that_" she said, but it was obvious that she didn't mind in the least. He shrugged at her and grinned. "Fine, stare…meet me in the science room after the graduation before we walk off to Missy's after party" he almost groaned. Had it not been for the fact that _she_ would be there waiting for him, he would never, ever go into that classroom again; not that he didn't like Mr. Sweeney, but come on! He had just spent the last three years of his life busting his brain to get _out _of it._

"_Science room?" he asked sheepishly, making Moze laugh._

"_Yep, meet me after graduation…I'm going to go first anyway" he sighed; he had since then found out that he would do absolutely _anything_ for Moze, and this was no exception. So he nodded. She smiled._

"_Yay! See you later!" and reaching for him, she pecked him on the cheek, which made him frown._

"_Cheek?" he said knowingly, making her laugh out again. _

"_Oh you'll get what you want" she grinned "when you go to the science room later"_

"_Oh come on!" he made an impatient gesture, so much like the kid he never got to let go of. But of course, Moze didn't mind in the least. _

"_Bye, Ned" she smiled, waved and pranced off to her parents' car. Ned stared after her, even until the car rounded off the corner and went out of view. At last, his own mom honked the horn, signaling for him to get in._

"_Ned! Come on, we'll be late!" and his mom, being the 'mom-who-knew-absolutely-everything' grinned knowingly at her graduating boy "She'll _be _there"_

_He looked at her and frowned "I know that" but she nodded it away and smiled when he grumbled at her and got into the car "Of course I know she'll be there"_

"_Yeah, I know," she laughed "It's just so much fun to mess with you my son, _especially_ when it comes to dear Jenny" oh yeah, his mom mostly called her Jenny, because that's what Moze's mom called her, and they were the _best_ of friends. Sounds familiar?_

"_Just go, mom!" Ned grumbled, but smiled, and with a last grin, his mom revved up the engine to go._

_***_

"_Ned, where are you going?" his friend, Cookie, who looked like a military man with all the medals he had pinned on, said, giving him a confused look as he walked for the science room._

"_Meeting Moze" he beamed and walked on, Cookie didn't say another word. He did wink though._

_Making his way to the science room, he started hearing voices. How could there be voices? He was quite sure only he and Moze would be out that night, and so it was either he had missed someone going out, or Moze was with someone in the science room. Of course, knowing Moze, it was probably the first one._

_Boy, he had it wrong._

_The light in the science room was already open, making it easy to see what was inside, and the door was opened a peep. All he had to do was look into that little crack, and his world went tumbling down. Next thing he knew, he was walking away, running back to the outdoor auditorium. He didn't dare barge in and talk to her, because he didn't want to hear whatever she would have said to him had he gone there even one minute later. He wouldn't be able to take it, so he ran away._

_Resuming his seat besides the other graduates, he could feel cold sweat dripping down his forehead, and that it had stuck to his polo shirt, and his toga. No, he wouldn't think about it, and while he contemplated, an idea—he always had ideas—started forming in his head._

***

Ned stifled a yawn while he groggily walked into his room at work. Last night's party was a blur, and if he had to look at one more Lamborghini shooter, he would probably kill himself. Okay, not quite, but he did have one heck of a headache.

He was now twenty-five, and was living like he had always wanted to. He was the assistant manager at a Journalism Firm, which wasn't all that bad for someone who graduated all of his years with Bs. He even had his own room in the office and a large apartment just a walk away from his work; and yep, he had a car, which wasn't too shabby at all. Life had been kind to him, and he was living it like there was no tomorrow.

As he plopped down into his seat, the first thing he looked at was the stack of papers just waiting for him to work on them. He sighed but got the top one anyway. Everything was for the next edition of the magazine he worked for, and his job was to read through it and give his thumbs- up to those he would deem good for final checking. Yep, big job, good pay.

But the words were making his brain all fuzzy, so after ten minutes, he put it down, groaning while another surge of sick had decided to bring itself out of his stomach, but he swallowed it back in, groaning at the horrid feeling he was starting to have in his head and his stomach.

"Ugh, that means no more shooters for a while" he grimaced at the taste, and took a cup of water from the dispenser an arms' length away from his table. He took one gulp, and when it wasn't enough, he drank the whole cup. Now it felt a bit better, but not so much.

"Ugh…" he muttered again. He didn't want to go back to his papers again, so he turned to his phone. Only then did he notice that it the light was glowing a bright red, which meant he had a few messages he didn't get to see earlier. Taking the receiver, he pressed the glowing red button.

"Hey Ned, this is your mother, are you going home for thanksgiving?" it was his mother, which is what she said.

_Beep_

"Umm, Ned, It's me, your mom, what's this thing I heard about you going out to all those rave parties?" he had to smile; so his mom still did know everything.

_Beep_

There was only one message left, and he was sure it would be from his mother. But he was wrong.

"Hey Ned," it started sheepishly, in a voice he could barely make out "Umm, I don't know if you still remember me, but uhh…yeah, looked you up on Facebook and on Google…it's me, Simon" to say he was surprised was an understatement. He was so shocked by the message he almost dropped the receiver. It was _Cookie_, Simon Nelson Cook, one of the only people he had left his number to. But when he betrayed him in college, giving his number away to someone he didn't want to talk to ever again, even Cookie had to be cut off.

He barely heard the long message Cookie was saying, but the last words made his heart drop to the ground.

"Umm, Ned, it's Jen, she's—she's" and he cut off but Ned was sure he almost heard Cookie sob. She's _what?_

Without a second thought, he called the number displayed on the machine. At first, no one answered, but he waited. After three beeps, the phone picked up, and he heard the familiar but deeper voice of his _old_ friend "Hello?"

"Coo—Simon?" the other line was quiet.

"You called back…" he impatiently clicked his tongue.

"Yeah, now what!? Tell me what's wrong, Simon"

Again, the other line was quiet, almost like Cookie was hesitating on the other line. "Umm, Ned"

"What!? What's wrong with Mo— he stopped mid-sentence, refusing to get her name into the conversation "wi-with her?"

"I know you probably don't really want to know anything about her, but Ned"

"Stop making it any longer, what's happened to Moze!?" he almost screamed.

"You've got to come here dude…" Cookie said gravely on the other line "and you'll understand everything…" after that, the phone went dead.

"Simon? Simon!" Ned took the receiver out of his ear, staring at it for a couple of minutes. A thousand thoughts ran through his mind, and he crossed them out. No it couldn't be true. He refused to think of the worst. _You've got to come here, dude…_ it rang in his ears again and again.

_You'll understand everything…_No! He wouldn't think of the worst! She was fine. She _had_ to be.

"Oh fuck this life!" he screamed to himself, and getting his coat, he stormed out of the office.

She was fine. She had to be.

***


	2. Apple Pie

**IT'S JUST A LITTLE TOO LATE**

* * *

Chapter 2: 

Ned walked into the familiar driveway, up the familiar porch, and through the familiar door. Even the smell was familiar. Someone was making his favorite apple pie.

"Mom?" he said. Almost immediately a head peeped out from the kitchen. His mom, who he hasn't seen since he'd graduated from college, looked almost teary-eyed. She ran to Ned and enveloped him in a big hug.

"Oh my God, Ned!" she cried, kissing him "I-I wanted to tell you" she was sobbing into his shirt and he felt the surge to hug her tightly. Ned had always been close to his mom, and he didn't like to see her cry. Plus, he hadn't hugged her in years.

"Tell me what?" he said softly. His mom looked up at him, tears rolling off her cheeks.

"Oh dear, you don't know" he shrugged.

"Cook—Simon called me but didn't give me any details…" he explained, and almost subconsciously, his gaze turned to the all-white house next to theirs. His mom wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Wait for me, Ned" she said "I'll finish the pie I'm making—your favorite apple pie—and we'll go to Jenny okay?" she sheepishly looked up at her son again, who was still looking at the neighbor's house. "Unless you have to leave?"

He looked back and shook his head "No, I don't but…" he shrugged "I probably won't be long"

She sighed, but she nodded "suit yourself, why don't you go up to your room while I make us the pie, what a coincidence I made your favorite pie the same day you come back" she patted his cheek "I'll be back in a bit" and when he nodded, she left him alone, standing in the hallway of one place he hadn't been in a long time. Everything was so familiar, and yet so distant. He roamed around his room, though it wasn't very large, looking at it like he had never been in it before.

He sat on the small bed with the blue covers that looked as if they haven't been touched since he moved out, except for a sunken spot on the edge where it looked like someone had sat on it. He knew it was inevitable, but he still caught himself sighing as he looked up and across his house to the window directly across of his, but the curtains were drawn. It didn't really mean anything, but it got him all agitated like he had been earlier. Cookie's words rang again through his mind, but he shook them away. No, he wouldn't think about it. So he got up and checked out some other thing. His stuff was still there, and when he opened his drawer, his School Survival Guide.

He didn't want to touch it, but he couldn't help it. He scanned through the pages and read what he had written who knew how long ago. Some of the memories made him smile, some made him frown, and soon he was so caught up reading it he almost missed his mom calling out to him.

**

He sat beside his mom in the car, staring blankly out the window. Where was she taking him? He didn't know, and she didn't really want to say, so he didn't bother to ask. He just got into the car, sat down and looked out the window.

A while later, they had pulled up, and he snapped out of his reverie. No, he wasn't going to think about it, but now he was not so sure anymore. It was the general hospital. He glanced at his mom, and caught her looking at him severely. "Is this it?" he mumbled.

She only nodded, parking the car on the first spot available.

They walked in through the reception, and into the lifts. She pressed four, which was where stay-in patients stayed. Again, he didn't comment.

Moze's room was the farthest one on the left and had a sign 'Mosley, Jennifer #00452' on it. His mom walked straight in, with half the pie in her hands, and he could hear that she was trying not to sob as she probably hugged the person who would be in the bed. Then the next thing he heard were whispered voices, frantic whispers that soon turned into arguments. This part—he was one hundred percent sure—was about him.

"I don't want to see him!" said a voice that could only be Moze's, except that it sounded almost doubtful, so very unlike the confident girl he had known in middle school.

"Miranda, no!" this was Moze's mom, talking to his mom; she was sobbing.

"I was surprised he showed!" his mom said and was being backed by none other than Cookie.

"No…I don't want to see him" Moze was sobbing, and it was breaking his heart.

He was surprised when it was Cookie he heard soothing her, but he couldn't hear anything he might be saying. He decided to just go. She was there, and she was alive. Yeah…he could live with that. But when he had taken one step back to the lifts, someone called out

"Ned?" he turned around and for the first time came face to face with the adult Cookie. He was still Cookie, except he was now taller, wore a corporate suit and wasn't wearing glasses anymore.

"Coo—Simon…" he slipped…again. But Cookie waved it away.

"Call me Cookie if you want to, Moze still calls me that"

"I, uh, I came as soon as you hung up on me" Cookie shrugged.

"Yeah…" he walked to Ned and looked him in the eye "now listen, Ned, whatever it is you're hiding in you, whatever it is you left for, please" he placed a hand on Ned's shoulder "Don't open it up…please" he nodded.

"Yeah…trust me, I won't" Cookie nodded and gestured for him to follow.

He entered the room with his head hung down, avoiding to look at anything and anyone. It was still early, so there weren't a lot of people.

"What are you doing here?" was the first thing he heard, making him look up to see the owner of the voice. She still had the head of long brown hair. She still had the lovely brown eyes—though they were glaring at him furiously. But Moze was far from the fine he was trying to imagine her to be.

She was…_sick._

"Cookie called…" he said, refusing to go any farther than the doorway "I just wanted to see how you were"

She looked away, and he could see beads of tears rolling down her cheeks "Well, now you've seen me…" she bit out "You can go away now"

He sighed, and nodded. But Cookie nodded for him to stay put.

"I will…" he muttered "when you're well again" and she replied by laughing a hoarse, humourless laugh.

"I'm not going to be well again, Bigby" he looked at her, while she shook her head. The laugh and the statement got her into a coughing fit, and her mom—who was glaring at him—ran over to pat her on the back. He didn't think. He ran over to the water dispenser and got her a paper cup of water, which she didn't take, so her mom had to give it to her.

Ned, in his hurry to get her the water, knocked over the files sitting on the foot of her bed. So he picked them up. He didn't have to scan far to know why she wasn't going to get better anymore, because written on it, in underlined words, was the term 'Cancer' and even worse, _Terminal _Cancer.

He blinked, but the stupid word didn't go away. Mosley, Jennifer…Cancer.

Cancer…

Cancer…

His brain had stopped working. No, she couldn't have cancer…Moze had always been so active and fit, she couldn't have cancer. He looked up from the file to Moze, who was still drinking water.

Cancer? How could she?

Ned felt as if he had been punched in the stomach, which made the pie in it mix with the nasty alcohol he had drunk into his system. His head swooned, and before he could vomit all the sick onto her bed, he bolted for the room, and into the nearest washroom.

**

Ned slouched into the cubicle wall, hiding again from his problems. No, it was just too horrible. He thought about how athletic Moze had always been, how she always kept herself in tip top condition with her volleyball and running and all the things she did daily. She had really good personal hygiene too. Ned buried his face in his hands, still stubbornly refusing to believe what he had just seen.

"Ned?" came a knock on the door. Cookie.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" he mumbled from his hands.

Again, Cookie was silent from the other side "Because she didn't want to tell you, and…I-I thought you wouldn't care…"

"Is it curable?" he asked, surprised that he sounded hopeful. But he regretted asking, because the opposite of 'yes' was too hard to bear.

It took a while for Cookie to answer "No…"

He shouldn't have asked; he really shouldn't have asked. Ned buried his head in his hands, and heard sobs emanate from his chest.

**

_Really sad stuff. well, that's life._

_On more cheerful notes: Thank You for your Wonderful Reviews. ILY.  
_


	3. Bad Dreams

**IT'S JUST A LITTLE TOO LATE

* * *

**

Chapter 3:

Yes, he wasn't going to drink anymore. That was his plan, but now? He didn't know. He took another bottle of beer from the crate that had been, previously, full of beer.

"Umm, Ned, I think you should stop drinking now" Cookie held the bottle before he could even take another sip. He reached for it but swooned at his movement and almost fell off his seat. Cookie led him back upright.

"I still can, come on, just one more bottle"

"No, that's not what Moze would like, come on, I'll take you home"

He looked at his friend, decided he was right, and got up. "Take me to her" he said groggily.

"Not like this, tomorrow maybe"

Ned suddenly chuckled almost hysterically to himself "I can't believe I'm back here, Cookie, wanting to see Moze again when it was me who hurt her for years, I suck"

Cookie didn't comment. The part of Ned that was still sane knew that it was because what he had said was true and his friend wasn't going to sugarcoat it by saying otherwise. "It's okay Ned, the more important thing now is that you are back"

"I just didn't want to hear goodbye…" said Ned quietly. The statement was so far from what they had just been talking about. They were nearing Cookie's car now, and Cookie had slid Ned into the backseat.

"Goodbye?" Cookie finally asked when he had positioned Ned more comfortably in his car, but his bestfriend had already dozed off.

* * *

_He didn't know why he was walking to the lovely white house on the end of the driveway. It vaguely looked like his house, and kind of like Moze's house, but it wasn't. It was a completely different thing, so large and beautiful and homely. He could even smell it, a waft of gardenias and apple pie was drifting into his nose every few seconds, putting his mind in a strange mood of euphoria. _

_He had entered the house now. The scent of pie wafted through from the back, presumably where the kitchen was. The house itself had this ethereal glow, bright and hazy, like a dream you'd never want to stop dreaming. And then the brightest thing of all entered from the kitchen._

_She was already beautiful to start with, but her aura shone through the house like a sight for sore eyes. She wasn't the frail, thin Moze he had seen at the hospital. No, she was the beautiful, radiant and dazzling girl who had always plagued his dreams. His beautiful Moze._

"_Hi Ned"_

"_Moze?" he heard himself utter, and then she laughed. Her laugh bounced off the walls like lilting bells. _

"_When are you ever going to stop calling me that?" she sighed, and he laughed along with her. Maybe this was reality. Maybe this was what really happened to him and Moze. Maybe, just maybe, he could stay here._

"_I love you Moze" he heard himself say. That was mistake number one._

_The house dimmed. "Then why did you leave me?" she asked quietly, and this time her voice did not lilt. He felt the first jolt of reality. This was her voice at the hospital._

"_I-I—_

"_I waited for you, but you didn't come" she said and this time, agony was painted all across her face "I've waited and waited and waited, but you didn't come"_

"_I'm never going to leave you again!" he said in a frantic voice, because she was slipping away… _again_. He hugged her tight. That was mistake number two._

_The beautiful, radiant Moze crumpled in his arms. Suddenly she was worse, worse than when he saw her last in the hospital. She was skin and bones; sallow skin loosely gripping to her bone, her once lovely eyes now muddled and milky. He shrieked. She laughed hoarsely "Too late, Ned" she said "I'm never going to be better, only worse" and then she burst into dust. _

Ned woke up from his dream turned nightmare with cold sweat dripping down the back of his neck. The first thing he did was look around; making sure it really _was_ just a dream. He expected the hazy house, but all he saw were the blue covers and posters of his room.

He lay back down and tried once again to fall asleep. But the dream made sure that wouldn't happen. So he lay awake.

There were two reasons the dream rendered him unable to fall asleep: one was because it was the scariest thing he had ever dreamt of.

Two was because the good half of his dream, the part about the house and the lovely Moze, was a dream he had back when he and Moze were dating. He hasn't dreamt of it since he left. And now, on his first day back, it too has come back again.

* * *

Ned found himself outside her door again, silently watching as the doctors pressed tubes into her frail body. A barrage of pills were on her bedside, presumably for her to take, and a lot more hospital things that looked painful yet necessary if he wanted her to live longer.

He looked at her, sitting up calmly and putting up her brave face. It could have fooled almost anyone except he knew where to look. The slightly quivering lips were the only thing that showed how scared she actually was and the fact that they did quiver was saying a lot; because Moze was almost always unafraid.

She gave him a scathing look and turned away. He should be sad, but the fact that she did not look much different from the day before and today was enough to get him through another day.

The procedures had taken hours, yet he did not even think to leave.

He just stood there, outside her door, staring at her. All the pain he had felt through the years now felt like nothing as he stood there. He realized how stupid he was for leaving her; for even considering it in the first place.

_But Ned_…he thought…_you didn't want goodbye. You couldn't stand goodbye._

"Bigby?" her frail voice called from inside the room. It took him a while to realize that the doctors had gone and he was still standing outside her door. "Come in"

He trudged slowly to her side, refusing to look at her, to show her the pity and pain he was feeling right then.

"Look at me, Bigby" she ordered. It took him by surprise, and then put a smile on his lips. She _was_ still Moze. Even in that state, she was still the woman he loved.

"I'm looking, Moze" he mumbled, feeling the smile evaporate when he saw her. How did she get so thin?

"Why are you here Bigby? And why were you smiling?" she asked, slumping into her pillow with her arms crossed around her chest.

"Nostalgia"

"Don't you think it's a little too late for that now?" she asked. It was. He shrugged but she had already continued "Look, I don't want us to…_separate_ on bad terms…" he flinched. He didn't want to hear about separation, possibly forever.

"I don't really want to talk about—

"Why would you even care? _You _left _me_, remember?" he heard her voice crack.

When he looked back up at her, his eyes were misty, remorseful and, although this might've been unintentional, angry. "I _care, _Moze…" she looked away from his intense gaze, tears forming in her eyes again. He felt he could cry too.

"But you left me, Bigby—

"Stop calling me that! _Ned, _Moze, please…please…" by the second please his voice had cracked. He knew fighting over his own stupid name was a really dumb move but _Bigby_, coming from her lips, felt detached and impersonal. He couldn't stand it. "I—I'm sorry"

"Okay. Ned…" she said quietly "Now, about me not wanting to separate on bad terms with you…" he flinched again but she just rolled her eyes "I want to know something"

Ned could feel his throat constricting. He knew exactly what she was going to ask. "What?"

"You know exactly what I want to know"

He drew in some air into his constricting throat, his eyes searching her face for a sign…any sign… that she could forgive him for leaving her.

He stared long and thoughtful at her beautiful face, etching it into his memory (-just in case-) the shape of her almond eyes, the curve of her lips, and the bridge of her nose. It was a face that had plagued his dreams every night since he left, a small betrayal of the indifference he showed during the day about his past.

"You would probably think I'm crazy, Moze"

"If you prove your point, I won't" she said softly.

"I—it was—

"Moze?" a voice said from the doorway; they both looked up, startled out of their intense talk. It was Ned who had looked up first, and unfortunately, he did not like who he saw.

"Moze!" It was Billy Loomer, now all clean shaven and, to Ned's chagrin, even more good looking than he was in middle school. He got up quietly, giving Moze one last look. Her eyes were big and shiny, her arms spread out to give the new visitor a hug.

"Loomer!" she said, and they hugged.

"Goodbye Moze…" he said over the two's voices. Moze turned her eyes to him, a frown reforming on her face.

"We're not done yet" she said quietly.

Loomer stood up and clapped him on the back "oh my God it's Ned! Hey, what happened to you man! you're leaving again?"

He gave Loomer a shrug, said "been busy" before telling Moze "Maybe some other time, bye Moze" and he walked away.

* * *

_God, my last update was forever ago! haha...well here's chapter 3!_


End file.
